Railway rail tie and track fastener



(No Model.)

4 W. G. SEARS.

RAILWAY RAIL TIE AND TRACK FASTENER. No. 444,909. PatentedJan. 20,1891,

"WILLIAM G. SEARS, OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE.

RAILWAY RAIL TIE AND TRACK FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,909, dated January 20, 1891.

Application filed March 15 1890.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, lVILLIAM (l. SEARS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailway Rail Ties and Track Fasteners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in railway rail ties and track fasteners, its object being to provide a practicable and efficient metallic cross-tie for use in railway construction and to perfect the means,whereby the rail is firmly secured upon said tie; and to these ends the invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a rail, and also a section of my improved tie on which the rail is secured by my improved fastening devices, the parts of which are shown in the position of practical use. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. 3 is a cross-section. Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of a portion of the rail-tie. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the inclined-faced piece or bar that forms an element of the outer clamp. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the wedge. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the inner clamp. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the bracing-block that forms part of the outer clamp.

Like letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout all the different figures.

A denotes a portion of a railway-rail which may obviously be of any desired size, weight, quality, or pattern.

13 denotes my improved metallic cross-tie, stringer, or sleeper on which the rail is secured. It may be of any proper dimensions. It is provided on its under side with a downweirdly-projecting longitudinal rib or flange B at right angles to the flat tie B and not in the middle line thereof-that is to say, it is situated at one side of said middle line, as shown. This rib or flangewill be firmly c111 Serial No. 343,983. (No model.)

bedded in the rock ballast of the road-bed,

and will thus serve to anchor the cross-tie and keep it in place. The non-medial position of the under rib allows the tie to have an elastic or yielding nature notinconsistent with its firmness of position, which it does not possess when the rib is in the middle. This elastic quality in the support of the rail is an important feature in railway construction, and it is gained in a satisfactory degree by the use of the tie made as I have just described, because the wider portion thereof between the edge and the rib will have a certain tendency to spring or give as the rollingstock passes over the track. The tie or sleeper B is further provided with a series of three or more slots or apertures I), Z), and b the end ones being preferably T-shaped and being located at suitable distances apart and in proper position relatively to the superposed rail. (See Fig. 3.) Said slots, furthermore, are placed in a line out of the middle line of the tie to one side of the under rib B'and on the opposite side of themiddle line from said rib. (See Fig. l.)

D represents the inner clamp that is, the clamp which is employed to fasten the inner one of the base-tlanges of the rail to the tie. It is shown in perspective in Fig.7. It is formed with an upper shoulder or curved face which is adapted to tightly hug the railflange, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. It is provided, also, with a T-head cl, which is adapted to pass through the slot 1), and by engaging therewith interlock the clamp and tie. By passing the horizontal bar of the T-head through the transverse portion of the slot and then shifting the clamp laterally to cause the shank of the T-head to enter the other part of the slot (see Fig. 3) the clamp may be located in proper position. \Vhen the rail is located withits flange under the clamp D and close up against the shank of said clamp, it will cover the transverse portion of the slot 13, and thus the clamp will be fixed immovably.

I will now describe the clamp which operates upon the outer base-flange of the rail and by means of which all the parts of the track-fastener are locked together.

E indicates a clamping-bar (see Fig. 5) arranged to rest transversely upon the metallic sleeper B near the outer end thereof. Said clamping-bar E is provided with a T-shaped head or extension 6, which enters the slot 1), the bar E being in this way stationed fixedly upon the tie, so that it cannot move outward or away from the rail. The slot 2), it will be noticed,is shaped similarly to slot 1), although reversed. Hence the horizontal bar of the T- head e may pass through the transverse portion of the slot, and then by shifting the device laterally to cause the shank of the T- head to enter the other part of the slot (see Fig. 3) the device is made to engage the tie in like manner to the clamp D. The clamping-bar E has a doubly-inclined face E. This face is opposite or toward the rail. is horizontally inclined, so that it is at an angle to the main direction of the rail, (see Fig. 2,) and it is also vertically inclined, so that it is at an angle to the upper surface of the tie B, this angle being an acute angle. (See Fig. 3.)

C denotes a bracing-block, which serves to brace the rail and also to form one of the parts of the clamp. It is seen in perspective in Fig. 8 and in actual relative position in Fig. 1. It has a face G which is designed to rest against the side of the rail, and which is properly shaped to permit it to do this. It also, has a face 0 adjacent to the clampingbar E and separated a short distance therefrom, the intervening space being occupied -by the wedge F, which is driven tightly in between the faces E and C. Said face C is vertically inclined, so as to be at an angle to the upper surface of the tie, which angle is an obtuse angle. (See Figs. 1 and 3.) The brace-block is furnished on its under side with a downward projection 0, having a lip. WVhen the block C is located in position with face 0 against the rail, the projection 0 passes through the slot 6 in the tie and the lip bears strongly against the under side of the tie near the slot, as shown in Fig. 3. The lip is preferably inclined somewhat, so that it may have a wedging action. Thus it will be seen that the brace-block 0 serves to strongly support the rail against the tendency which it has to press outward, owing to the action of the flanges of the wheels which roll over it, which flanges act against the inner edge of the tread of the rail. In order to firmly bind all these parts together, the wedge F, to which I have just referred, is driven tightly in between the faces E and C. This wedge is shown in perspective in Fig. 6. It is preferably made of soft iron or steel or some other soft metal. It is of a peculiar shape. f and f designate its wedging-faces, which are on opposite sides of the wedge. Each of thesefaces fand f is doubly inclined-that is to say, they are each longitudinally inclined from the heel to the point of the wedge, so that they converge toward each other at the pointand they are also each of them vertically inclined, so that they will be at an angle to the flat upper face of Said face the tie, which angle is an acute angle in the case of face f and an obtuse angle in the case of face f, said vertical inclinations of the two faces being therefore, generally speaking, in the same direction, although their an gles of inclination are different, the face f thus being parallel to the inclined face 0 on the block 0 and the face f being parallel to the face E of the clamping-bar E. The wedge Fcan be driven between the clamping-bar E and the block 0 as tightly as may be desired, and the result thereof will 'be to firmly bind together all the parts of the trackfastener. The block 0 will be pressed rigidly against the outside of the rail, and the rail will be itself pushed tightly against the.

inside clamp D. After the wedge has been driven into position as far as may be desired the end thereof can be bent over, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so as to keep it from working loose. If it be desired at any time to remove the wedge, the bent end can be straightened and the wedge withdrawn by suitable means.

It will be observed that a wedge thus constructed, with its opposite Wed gin g-faces each doubly inclined, in combination with the parts between which the wedge drives, said parts being inclined, as I have above described, a very strong and serviceable clamp is provided, because after the wedge has been driven into position it. not only cannot be withdrawn by any endwise movement, butit cannot be lifted, since its doubly-inclined sides keep it down and prevent any such uplifting.

Numerous changes in the exact details and precise construction of the device herein described may obviously be made without departing from the invention.

This fastening may furthermore be applied to other purposes than that of securing tracks in place. It will doubtless be found useful for a variety of purposes for which it will be fitted, as well as it is for the purposes herein referred to.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described improvement in track-fasteners, consisting in the combination, with the slotted tie and the rail, of the clamp for the inner base-flange of the rail and the combined clamp and brace for the outer side of the rail, consisting of the bar having a doubly-inclined face, a brace block having an inclined face, and the interposed wedge between the inclined faces of the bar and block and having its wedging-faces doubly inclinedthat is, from end to end, and also vertically, said vertical inclinations of the faces being in the same general direction, but at different angles.

2. As an improvement in track-fasteners, the combination, with the tie and rail, of the inner clamp, the outer clamping-bar having a doubly-inclined face, the block bearing 011 the outer side of the rail and having an inclined face, and the interposed wedge between the inclined faces of the bar andthe block, having its wedging-faces doubly inclined-that is, from end to end, and also vertically, said vertical inclinations of the faces being in the same general direction, but at different angles.

3. In a clamping device for tracks or other objects to be secured, the herein-described wedge, having its wedging-faces doubly inclinedthatis, from end to end, and also vertic-ally, said vertical inclinations of the faces being in the same general direction, but at different angles-in combination with the adjoining parts of the clamp between and in connection with which the wedge operates to secure the track or other object in. a firm position, substantially as described.

I 4. In a fastener for tracks or other similar objects, the combination, with the track or object to be secured, of the inner clamp actin g against one side of the object, a clampingbar on the other side of the object, having a doubly-inclined face, a brace-block against the object and between it and said bar and having an inclined face, and the interposed wedge located between the inclined faces of the brace-block and the bar, said wedge havingits wedging-faces doubly inclined-that is, from end to end, and also vertically, said vertical inclinations of the faces being in the same general direction, but at different anles.

3 5. In a track or other fastener, the combination of the flat supporting-surface of the tie or similar object, the rail or other object resting thereon, the inner clamp on one side of the object, the clamping-bar on the other side, said bar having a doubly-inclined face, the vertical inclination of said face being at an acute angle to the upper surface of the tie, the brace-block between the object and the bar, said block having an inclined face, which face is vertically inclined at an obtuse angle to the upper surface of the tie, and the wedge between the inclined faces of the bar and the brace-block, said wedge having its wedging-faces doubly inclined-that is, from end to end, and also vertically, said vertical inclinations of the faces being in the same general direction, but at different angles.

6. In a track-fastener, the combination of the slotted tie, the inner clamp, and the outer clamping devices consisting of the doublyinclined bar, the brace-block with its inclined face, and the wedge having doubly-inclined wedging-faces that is, inclining from end to end, and also vertically, said vertical inclinations of the faces being in the same general direction, but at different angles.

7. The combination of the metallic tie slotted at b, 11 and b, the rail A, the inner clamp D, having the T-head cl, which is received into slot b, the clamping-bar E, having the doubly-inclined face E and the T-head e, which enters the slot 1), the clamping-block 0, having the inclined face 0 and the projection c, which enters slot 12 and the wedge having the doubly-inclined wedging-faces f and f, all substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

XVILLIAM G. SEARS.

Witnesses:

FRED E. TASKER, HENRY B. BOLTON. 

